My primary interest is Regressive Autism, its incidence and its MMR
connection.

In the United Kingdom, the issue of MMR remains in the forefront with a
David and Goliath scenario unfolding for the last seven years: On one side, the
mighty Government, the Prime-Minister personally, the Health authorities, the
Press –some of it very ugly- and large useless epidemiological studies and on
the other side, Andrew Wakefield with his study of 12 children and a small group
of faithful devoted and informed parents.

In the United States, most researchers and the majority of parents with
affected children have been more involved with the Thimerosal issue lately.

There is enough scientific evidence to show that both the MMR vaccine and
Thimerosal in other vaccines precipitate autistic regression in
genetically-predisposed children, not withstanding the opinions of biased
“experts,” a misleading IOM special committee report and obviously the CDC.

At any rate, I wrote “The Mercury Memo” because I thought the story had to
be told but fully intended to leave the Thimerosal issue - from there on, to its
supporters.

That is when a British Red Flag member decided to send me an email with just
a URL.

The first and second words seemed interesting enough - so I had a look.
There was a blue bar with the number 817043 and Thimerosal USP. There was also a
skull and cross bones and there were the two words <very toxic> all on a Merck
document.

The document was available in French, German and Spanish and also described
the environmental dangers of Thimerosal.

Thimerosal

As a boatman, I had known that mercury-based “boat - bottom paint” was a
no-no and I never used it. But I must confess that until I read the Merck
information (above), I had never heard anyone mention the “environmental
dangers” of Thimerosal, the “preservative” we had put in baby vaccines since the
nineteen thirties.

I had often wondered why Thimerosal was ever added to vaccines. The CDC
claims that it was, in order to prevent contamination of multiple dose vials by
sloppy health care providers. If that was so, then why did we also add it to
certain vaccines that came in single-dose vials? Could it simply have been the
sterility on the production line that we were attempting to guarantee? That
would certainly make more sense.

Now if as Merck claimed Thimerosal was “very toxic and dangerous for the
environment” should we have been “injecting” it into babies, pregnant women and
fragile old people – IN ANY QUANTITY?

The complete Thimerosal impact information is on the Merck European Safety
Data Sheet (SDS) that can be reached by clicking on the last line in the
“Product Info” list, on the right of the original page or directly here.

The 6-page Merck SDS on Thimerosal USP – updated July 28, 2003 - is
available in all European languages and is certainly well worth reading in its
entirety.

The following are the more salient points made by Merck for its European
customers ( My comments are in bold characters
):

There were detailed instructions on what to do immediately: After
inhalation, after skin contact, after eye contact and after swallowing. The
exposed persons were also instructed to also immediately call their physician.

4. Labeling according to the European Community Directives

Symbol T+ Very toxic N Dangerous for the environment

Note that the updated labeling appears more stringent that the previous
one (1999).

5. Toxicological information

* After skin contact: Danger of skin absorption. Obviously the skin is
by-passed altogether when thimerosal is injected

* Mercury compounds have a cytotoxic and protoplasmatoxic effect.

Cytotoxic: An agent or process that is toxic or destructive to cells.
Protoplasmatoxic: Toxic to the cell protoplasm.

* The following applies to organic mercury compounds in general:
long-term exposure leads to disorders/damage of the nervous system.

Note that the heading is “intoxication” symptoms. Also note the multitude of
acute and chronic problems listed and particularly the fact that central nervous
system manifestations can result from chronic exposure to thimerosal.

******

The United States and Canada have their own “Material Safety Data Sheet”.

Thimerosal is Product Code # 22215 and the information was revised in
December 2003.

Comments: Parents of children with autism will recognize these symptoms at
once – having lived with most of them. The rest of the readers should take a few
minutes and search in Google for autism + each of these symptoms. They will
certainly be astonished.

A. Exposure to Thimerosal resulted in some forms of uterine cancer in the
United States

B. We have been aware for 30 years that fetal death and miscarriages have
resulted from exposure to the “preservative”.

If so, why did we allow the administration of
RhoGAM (Rh? (D) immune globulin (Human) or similar products –containing
0.003% thimerosal in each UNIDOSE pre-filled syringe - to pregnant women at 26
weeks gestation?

The United States “Regulatory Information” is as follows:

RCRA - Hazardous Wastes: U151.

OSHA - Air Contaminant.

SARA 302 - Extremely Hazardous Chemical.

SARA 313 - Toxic Chemical.

EPA TSCA Section 8(b) - Chemical Inventory.

Exposure Limits - ACGIH TLV-TWA: 0.1 mg(Hg)/m3 (skin).

OSHA PEL: 8H TWA 0.01 mg(Hg)/m3 (skin).

NIOSH: REL to Mercury, Aryl and Inorganic-air: CL 0.1 mg/m3 (Sk).

Comments:

- According to RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency) Thimerosal hazardous wastes must be handled
like mercury as waste code U151. The EPA does not consider Thimerosal safer
because it is ethyl mercury.

- The EPA actually sets the toxic Thimerosal levels for skin contact and
ambient air

- The CDC says that it was safe to add Thimerosal to pediatric vaccines and
quotes “experts” who claim that the “preservative” never caused any harm because
only minute doses were injected.

How big a dose is 0.01mg of mercury /m3 in contact with skin?

*******

Parting questions:

* If Thimerosal can cause such awful things to humans and the
environment, why do we really need it and why do we still manufacture it?

* If Hazmat suits and gloves are required to handle Thimerosal and
thorough washing of the eyes and skin are immediately recommended after any
contact with it, then why have we injected it into babies or mothers carrying
babies for sixty years and added it to many eye drops and some hemorrhoidal
ointments?

* If we have known all this for years, then why didn’t we find some other
preservative to add to vaccine that does not kill living organisms, cells and
their protoplasm?

* If this information was available in Europe for years, was the United
Kingdom Health Minister aware of it and if so, why did he or she allow the
Department of Health to recommend pediatric vaccines with thimerosal until 2004?

* Why do the health authorities in Canada and the United States still
insist that Thimerosal in vaccines has never caused any problems quoting flawed
and clearly biased epidemiological studies?

* If neither the Thimerosal nor the MMR vaccine has contributed to the
meteoric increase in behavioral and developmental problems, then what did?

* Has everyone who has served on the 2004 IOM Immunization Safety Review
Committee read the Material Safety Data Sheet that has a Skull & Crossbones on
the right upper corner?